Archive · 13 Nov 2025
‘The Kartli Kingdom’ Premieres at IDFA, Exploring Refugee Life
Imagine a big old building that used to be a place for sick people, but now it's home to families who had to leave their homes a long, long time ago because of a war.
This building, called Kartli, was supposed to be a temporary place, but they've been living there for 30 years!
This movie, 'The Kartli Kingdom,' is about their lives inside Kartli.
It shows their farm, their garden, and how they remember their old home.
The movie helps us understand how they feel, what they remember, and how they stay strong together even after losing so much.
The filmmakers talked to people and looked at old videos to tell their story.
It's a peek into a place where people have built a new life, holding onto memories of the past while living in the present.
The documentary 'The Kartli Kingdom' is premiering at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
The film explores the lives of refugees who have resided in a former sanatorium in Tbilisi, Georgia, for 30 years after fleeing the war in Abkhazia.
Directed by Tamar Kalandadze and Julien Pebrel, the documentary offers an intimate portrait of a community's resilience and trauma.
The film utilizes personal stories and archival VHS tapes to revisit memories of their lost homeland.
'The Kartli Kingdom' is a co-production between Georgia's Sakdoc Film and France's Habilis Productions.
- Who
- Refugees from the 1990s war in Abkhazia, and filmmakers Tamar Kalandadze and Julien Pebrel
- What
- The world premiere of the documentary film 'The Kartli Kingdom', which explores the lives of refugees who have lived for 30 years in a former sanatorium.
- When
- The film premiered on Sunday, November 16, 2023, and will screen multiple times at IDFA through November 22, 2023.
- Where
- International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in the Dutch capital, with the film's subject matter being a former sanatorium in Tbilisi, Georgia.
- Why
- To document the ongoing lives, shared resilience, and lingering trauma of refugees who have been displaced for three decades, offering an intimate portrait of their community.
- Film Title
- The Kartli Kingdom
- Directors
- Tamar Kalandadze and Julien Pebrel
- World Premiere
- November 16, 2023
- Festival
- International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)
- Setting
- Former sanatorium in Tbilisi, Georgia, housing refugees from the Abkhazian war
- Production Companies
- Sakdoc Film (Georgia), Habilis Productions (France)
- World Sales
- Square Eyes